Limitless
by eRenae
Summary: With two Seal Masters as parents, it shouldn't have been such a surprise that Uzumaki Naruto would be a genius at Fuuinjutsu as well. He, however, took sealing to a level that was just plain ridiculous. This is his story.


Limitless

Prologue

* * *

"Do not confine the seal, for it is** limitless** in its potential."

-Namikaze Minato, _Fuuinjutsu: The Art and Science_

* * *

Ōnoki knew he was old.

"Tsuchikage-sama," said one of his Elite Jounin as the twenty-something young lad bowed at the waist. Ōnoki watched in silent envy as the Jounin, Chaa Mao – no more than a boy, really, sprung right back up – no back pain whatsoever.

Hiding a sigh at where his thoughts were leading him, Ōnoki regarded his serious-faced Jounin with a grim expression of his own. Somehow, Ōnoki foreknew, from Mao's tense posture, that he had something of import to say, something that wasn't good news.

Mao was head of the Intelligence Department, quite feat for someone below thirty. Yet Ōnoki knew he was capable, else he wouldn't have handed Mao the position upon the death of the last Department Head. Usually, information from the Intelligence Department, or Indep, was passed through paperwork, only reaching the Tsuchikage's desk after layers of screening through the lower levels of the bureaucracy. To have Mao deliver the news personally did not bode well.

"Report, Jounin," Ōnoki said, expertly hiding his weariness. He swiveled his chair and turned his back on the Jounin, opting instead to stare at his village as Mao delivered his news.

"Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin is dead."

There was silence.

"How?"

"Intel reports claim that the Sannin simply… keeled over. A seal array of unknown design and origin was reported in the autopsy, but the Sannin's body turned to ash before further investigation could be implemented."

Ōnoki played with his goatee as he pondered the news.

"Who were witnesses to his death?"

"Several scientists he was with at the time. Also, Otogakure, the village Orochimaru supposedly founded, is in chaos right now. Most of his bases have also been exposed in the aftermath. The power struggle in Otogakure has also caused waves in the political scene. More missing nin are flocking to the village, seeking asylum and taking advantage of the situation. It seems the missing nin have grown bolder in the face of Orochimaru's death."

The Tsuchikage remained silent in the face of the new development.

"Orochimaru's death, it seems, is legitimate, given the absolute chaos Otogakure is in right now," concluded Mao.

"And Konoha? How did they react to the news?"

At the question, Mao frowned minutely. To the veteran Tsuchikage, the frown was troubling.

"That's just it, Tsuchikage-sama," Mao said, "We haven't heard from our spies in Konoha for two weeks."

A sense of dread enveloped the Tsuchikage as he tried to swallow this piece of information, "And I have only been told of this now… why?"

Mao's frown deepened, "The last report from several of our spies posted in Konoha sent missives saying that the village has applied a new line of defense utilizing a seal array of some sort. The Hokage had declared a new law stating that every ninja and civilian residing permanently in Konoha had to be sealed… for their protection.

"The Hokage explained that the seals were for identification purposes and would monitor the health of the village populace, so, naturally, our spies saw no harm in getting themselves sealed, seeing as, superficially, they _are_ permanent residents of Konoha.

"We saw no harm in the new seal overlapping the loyalty seals already put in place in our spies… but it seems that that is not the case…" Mao said, trailing off worriedly.

"Yet, no further developments have been reported..." mused Ōnoki.

"None, Tsuchikage-sama. I admit, Konoha's new seal array sounds troubling. And unless we can further study their seal, we can't know for sure-"

Mao was interrupted by a heavy knock on the stone door that echoed eerily in the Tsuchikage's office.

Ōnoki scowled, not in the mood for any matters that he deemed unimportant. What, he thought, was so pressing that they had to interrupt his meeting with the Indep Head?

"What is it?" asked the Tsuchikage irritably, applying chakra to his vocal chords and knowing that his booming voice would be heard through the stone door.

The door opened slowly to reveal the pale face of one of Iwagakure's spies stationed in Konoha.

He recognized her instantly. He was, after all, one of the few who selected her personally for her skills and discretion.

"She was found along the border, Tsuchikage-sama," said another of his Jounin, trailing behind the pale spy, "We were about to apprehend her when she recited one of the Codes."

The Codes were a series of words that identified you as an affiliate of Iwa, even if you didn't have a headband or any papers claiming you to be a part of Iwa. The Codes were usually drilled into the psyche of the spy, only accessible when certain criteria were met, so that even when the spy was exposed and tortured, the Codes remained deep in the person's Psyche.

There were, of course, certain methods that bypassed the criteria needed in order to access the Codes. The most effective method to date was the Yamanaka Clan's Interrogation Jutsu that Konoha coveted like a homicidal miser with the last of his gold.

"Tsuchikage-sama…" the woman, around mid 40's, said, trembling.

The sense of dread within Ōnoki doubled upon the sight of her.

"I have a message… from Konoha," the woman said, raising a scroll towards him even as she trembled even more. Tears streamed down her plain yet filthy face.

Ōnoki tensed, as did Mao and the Jounin who escorted her.

"What is in the scroll, woman?" demanded the Tsuchikage.

"I cannot say, Tsuchikage-sama," said the woman with difficulty.

"Check it," he said, motioning to his Indep Head. Mao was one of the village's experts in Seals and information. He was, by no means, a Seal Master, but he got the job done. He trusted the Jounin enough to check the scroll for any traps.

"It's a simple storage scroll, Tsuchikage-sama," said Mao, bewilderment coating his voice even as his face frowned in worry.

"What is the message, woman?" asked the steadily enraged Tsuchikage. He did not know what Konoha was playing at, but this was worrying indeed.

"I- I was told you had to- to open the scroll before I relayed my message," the woman said, her tears escalating to quiet sobs.

"Open it," said the Tsuchikage.

Mao unfurled the longish scroll on the floor and, with a series of hand seals, unsealed the curious items from within.

Twenty-six detached heads materialized with a small cloud of dust.

It was a sight that would turn even the most seasoned killer green with nausea.

They were the heads of all of Iwa's spies stationed in Konoha.

Enraged, Ōnoki stood from his chair and shook with fury at the sight of the disemboweled heads of all his spies – the twenty-seventh one the only one left alive.

The woman's sobs escalated to wails at the sight of her colleagues' dismembered heads.

"SPEAK, WOMAN! What was the message?!" shouted Mao as he stood from his kneeling position, trembling with a mixture of fear and outrage.

As if a password had just been spoken, the woman's eyes rolled towards the back of her head, an intricate seal spreading on her forehead, and with a voice that wasn't hers, said:

"_Our patience grows thin_."

Then, she keeled over and died.

Ōnoki sat back down on his chair, tremors wracking his aged body as the implications of today's events slammed into him.

After the death of their Fourth Hokage more than seven years ago, Konoha, it seems, has recovered.

The dying embers have been rekindled.

The Will of Fire has ignited.

The Leaf is on the rise.

Ōnoki clenched his fists.

"They have a Seal Master in their midst," he whispered, fear slightly coating his voice. All the evidence pointed to it: Konoha's new line of defense, the Hokage's new decree in sealing all of Konoha's residents, and his spies being ratted out… It all pointed to a new, budding Fuuinjutsu Master at work.

The fact that Konoha now seems impenetrable, coupled the Hokage's drastic actions in sealing all of Konoha's residents point to a drastic shift in power in Konoha's favor.

Ōnoki shuddered.

The ramifications of another Seal Master in Konoha were a frightening thought. Their last Seal Master, after all, was able to single-handedly turn the Third Secret Shinobi World War into a landslide victory for Konoha.

Iwa would not survive another Yellow Flash.

"Tsuchikage-sama?" asked Mao, his voice tremulous.

"Konoha has a new Seal Master, one that designed the seals that ousted our spies. Another genius," he sneered, composure coming back to him, "Another prodigy. Another boon for Konoha."

The office was silent.

"Clean all of this up and inspect the seal on that woman's body."

Even though he doubted the woman's body would remain intact for his Fuuinjutsu specialists to unravel if Orochimaru's condition was to be believed, Ōnoki had to at least try.

"Hai, Tsuchikage-sama."

"One more thing," said Ōnoki, turning his attention back to the piles of paper littered on his desk, "Find out who in the nine layers of hell the Seal Master is and print out a bounty for him on the next edition of the Bingo Book. 10 Million Ryo should suffice."

"…Hai, Tsuchikage-sama."

"Do it. I want him dead two weeks ago."

* * *

A/N:

Hello all and welcome to my second attempt at a kick-ass Naruto Seal Master fanfic!

The next chapter is coming soon!


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